as in terminology
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field
eventually, he got bored with the shoptalk of the nuclear engineers, which he barely understood
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Recent Examples of shoptalk
These were often portraits of people at work—jockeys, preachers, movie stars—that showcase the indiscriminate pleasure Crews took in shoptalk.
—
Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The house rule is that shoptalk is verboten on Saturdays.
—Sue Reilly, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
In between performances and shoptalk, Saul and Caprice are drawn into overlapping intrigues involving a dead child and an inner-beauty pageant.
—New York Times, 2 June 2022
The numb shoptalk of consulates?
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
In shoptalk, this is called the 5:2 diet.
—Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, 2 Mar. 2018
My mother was becoming increasingly wary of the stir-crazy shoptalk from a group of 40-year-old guys who were three trail beers away from skiing down the mountain to their deaths.
—Kaitlin Phillips, Vogue, 13 Feb. 2018
Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
The house rule is that shoptalk is verboten on Saturdays.
—Sue Reilly, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
In between performances and shoptalk, Saul and Caprice are drawn into overlapping intrigues involving a dead child and an inner-beauty pageant.
—New York Times, 2 June 2022
The numb shoptalk of consulates?
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
In shoptalk, this is called the 5:2 diet.
—Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, 2 Mar. 2018
My mother was becoming increasingly wary of the stir-crazy shoptalk from a group of 40-year-old guys who were three trail beers away from skiing down the mountain to their deaths.
—Kaitlin Phillips, Vogue, 13 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoptalk
Noun
-
Scientists Push Back Not everyone in the scientific community shares Colossal’s optimism — or its terminology.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
16 Mar. 2026
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Top Case is Apple's terminology for the upper half of the aluminum shell that surrounds the keyboard on all MacBooks.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Beef does something similar, translating immigrant frustration into the visual vocabulary of an American thriller, animated by distinctly Korean notions of family honor, shame, resentment and parental pressure.—
Dan Bilefsky,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Mar. 2026
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The sounds that weren’t just popularized by Whole Lotta Red, but also, SoFaygo and Ken Carson’s first couple of albums and Destroy Lonely, are just the vocabulary of the underground now.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The gambit that Shelley somehow comes to possess her fictional creation is sustained, as Ida alternates between a very American dialect and a more high-toned British accent.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
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Having a few weeks of rehearsal ahead of filming helped McEwen and Kidman to establish the similarities in their performances, as did work with Kidman’s dialect coach.—
Emily Zemler,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
If a conversation thread gets confusing, rewrite the key points in plain language.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Mar. 2026
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Trump has also asked that Republicans tack on language restricting transgender surgeries and transgender participation in women’s sports — two policies that Republicans successfully used as a political wedge against Democrats in the last election cycle.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In 1993, Green started compiling 500 years of English slang by sifting through mountains of primary sources.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Blending Milanese slang with French and Arabic, his rhymes should bring a fresh energy to the event.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoptalk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoptalk. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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